I found this mindboggling article in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

It is about the Louisiana State Penitentiary, nicknamed "Angola" for some reason, and how it has gone from being the worst prison in America to one of the safest due to the efforts of Burl Cain, the Prison Warden.

Reading this article was rather a shock with details such as ..."Its inmates have little hope of ever being released. Louisiana has the harshest prison sentences in the United States. Parole is a rarity. Burglary gets 40 years, armed robbery 99 years. A murder conviction means prisoners leave only in a coffin..."

40 years for burglary?!?! ..what on earth??!?!!? ..gosh, prisoners elsewhere in the World do not know how fortunate they are by comparison!

The oddest part of the article are the details of a modern day 'Bedlam' ...where members of the public can watch a bizarre rodeo ...

"The rodeo is a thrilling spectacle. Prisoners in black and white striped shirts play daring games such as Convict Poker. Four prisoners sit around a table in the centre of the arena playing poker. A 900-kilogram bull is released and encouraged to charge them. The last inmate to stay in his seat wins. It usually ends with the bull crashing into the group tossing them high into the air, trampling and goring those he can catch. The crowd roars..."

Ummmmm... ..yes, well, whatever turns you on.